Nigerian Militants Told Captors: Free Toddler or Else

One militant group in Nigeria threatened another in order to gain the release of a three-year-old British girl, the leader of one of the groups told the Blotter on ABCNews.com. The leader of MEND, or the Movement to Emancipate the Niger Delta, considered the most powerful militant group in Nigeria, told ABCNews.com in an e-mail that the group issued a warning to the Nigerian gunmen responsible for the kidnapping of three-year-old Margaret Hill to let her go unconditionally or else. "There is no excuse for violence against children," said the leader who goes by the name of "Jomo." "There were no negotiations for her release. Just an ultimatum." Photos What’s Leading to Terror in the Niger Delta? Hill was released Sunday after being kidnapped by Nigerian gunmen on her way to school two days earlier. She is the daughter of a British ex-patriate oil worker and a Nigerian woman living in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage. According to British and Nigerian media reports, the captors had warned they would kill the girl if her father did not swap places with her and if they did not receive a cash ransom. Both the Nigerian and British governments deny any ransom was paid for her release. MEND itself has taken numerous hostages in the past as part of the group’s campaign demanding the impoverished residents in the Niger Delta receive more of the billions of dollars of oil revenue. But Jomo called the men who kidnapped Hill "criminals." When news of Hill’s kidnapping broke, Jomo issued the statement that MEND "abhorred all forms of violence against women and children," and said the group would "join in the search for the monsters who carried out the abduction." Jack Cloonan, an ABC News consultant and hostage negotiator, deals with kidnappings in Nigeria frequently and says kidnap-for-cash has become an increasing problem in the Niger Delta. More than 149 foreign oil workers have been kidnapped in this year alone. But Cloonan says the increasing frequency of random groups taking hostages for cash could leave the Niger Delta in complete chaos. "It’s one thing to deal with MEND and Egbema One," says Cloonan. "But this strikes me as more of a criminal act." Cloonan says he’s not surprised MEND got involved in the negotiations to free the child. "This doesn’t help their cause," he said. "To target kids is as nasty as it gets. What benefit do you gain by hurting a kid?" Jomo told ABCNews.com that after a month-long moratorium in order to negotiate with the new government, MEND plans to resume its former actions, including targeting oil facilities and taking hostages, but that the group will not stand for anyone targeting women and children. "Such low lifes will not be accepted in our midst," said Jomo in an e-mail. "We have our ways of punishing such levels of criminality, and they will be duly punished." Do you have a tip for Brian Ross and the Investigative Team?